City comparison
Phoenix, AZ is about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) from Sammamish, WA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,400 miles, or about 23 hours (about 2 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Phoenix, AZ to Sammamish, WA takes about 2 h 12 min, covering roughly 1,100 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Phoenix, AZ is on Mountain Time and Sammamish, WA is on Pacific Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Phoenix, it's 11 a.m. in Sammamish, which puts Phoenix 1 hours ahead.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Phoenix has a population of 1,609,456, vs 66,586 in Sammamish — about 24.2× larger by population. By land area, Phoenix covers about 520 sq mi vs 20 sq mi for Sammamish.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Phoenix | Sammamish | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,322/mo | $2,627/mo | 98.7% higher in Sammamish |
| Median home value | $340,200 | $1,139,100 | 234.8% higher in Sammamish |
| Median household income | $72,092 | $215,047 | 198.3% higher in Sammamish |
| Groceries index | 95.8 | 104.0 | 8.5% higher in Sammamish |
| Utilities index | 96.2 | 95.7 | ≈ equal (Phoenix slightly higher) |
| Transportation index | 104.1 | 106.6 | 2.5% higher in Sammamish |
| Healthcare index | 104.0 | 106.6 | 2.5% higher in Sammamish |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Phoenix, you'd need $116,243 in Sammamish to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Phoenix, AZ is about 14% cheaper overall than Sammamish, WA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 31% higher in Sammamish than in Phoenix. If you earn $80,000 in Phoenix, you'd need about $92,994 in Sammamish to keep the same standard of living.